The Little Things
by ParagonFlynn
Summary: Eren was bed-ridden, wounded and unconscious. The Scouting Legion needs to answer for their risky and destructive plan. One of the secrets within the walls had been revealed. Questions are abound but answers were nowhere to be seen. No one is sure what will happen next. But even with the uncertain future before him, Eren still couldn't help but to look back at the Little Things...
1. First Night

**The Little Things**

* * *

**First Night**

_Come on, let's get going... Back to our home._

There was a gentle knock on the wooden door, too soft for anyone to hear. Creaking open ever so slightly, a thin illuminating stream of light escaped through the small opening and danced around the dimly lit room. Distant voices could be heard coming from the outside world, somewhat muffled and yet, still understandable:

"Oh God, I can't believe this is happening. That poor girl..." It was a woman's voice, drenched with pity and nervousness.

"Yes... Well, she'll be staying with us now. She has already seen too much pain so it's the least we can do for her." This time, it was a man's voice, so serious it sounded. Always so serious...

"But still... Grisha, is... Is it true?" The woman almost hesitated to ask.

"What is it, Carla?"

"What Eren did... Is it really true?"

"He... did what he had to do. Please leave it at that, Carla."

"But... But, Grisha!"

The door closed as quickly as it was opened, the darkness eager to return and fill the entire room. Only silence remained as the two voices faded away into the night. But there was still one voice.

"Hey, are you... Are you still awake?" said the voice. It was from the young boy standing under the cold shadow of the door. His face expressionless but his eyes showed signs of concern.

"Yes. Yes, I am." The girl answered meekly. She spoke in hushed tones, her voice barely audible over the distant murmurings of crickets and other sounds of the night.

The boy simply sighed in response. He was tired- deathly so-, and his body was still sore after what had happened earlier that night. He could still feel the bony fingers of the wretched kidnapper around his neck. Despite his obvious unease, he casually shook it off as if nothing really happened. He knew that the girl was feeling a lot worse than he was.

Carefully making his way to the little bed at the end of the room, the boy tried his best not to make any sudden noises or bump into any of the furniture in his small room. A single window hung over the small bed, letting in a thin beam of moonlight into the room. The light washed over the thick blankets that the girl was hiding under.

"Here, I got you something." He said, in his hands was a curious little cup of pulpy green liquid.

The thick blankets rustled slowly at first before gently sliding off the girl's petite body just a little bit, revealing her long raven-colored hair. Her tear-stained eyes glanced at the young boy standing beside the bed with a grim expression on his face. If it had been just any other night, the girl would've felt a nerve-wracking sense of uncertainty in her stomach like she would always feel whenever she was in a stranger's house, but tonight, she felt nothing.

"My father, he-" The boy said as his fingers nervously fidgeted over the cup's surface, "He made you some medicine to help with the headache." He continued, his voice was almost as serious as his father.

"Okay." The girl simply replied.

She slowly sat up, pushing the blankets halfway down her worn body as she did so. As she turned to face him, her empty eyes met with his turquoise ones in a lasting gaze. The glinting moonlight coming through the scratched window flickered between them like a beacon of sorts in the darkness. The boy did not know what to do, he wasn't even sure of the correct words to say to the quiet girl. What is inside her mind, he wonders. What is she thinking? She seems so distant, so uncaring. Her eyes were emotionless. Barely any life remained in them as she continued to stare at him.

But after what had happened to her, who could blame her for being so... lifeless? "It's a miracle that she can still speak and walk normally after all that she's been through.. It could have been so much worse..." His father had told him on the way back home earlier that same night.

It was almost strange and kind of hard to believe, actually. To think that before this very night, before everything that happened and everything that they did to survive, they did not know each other at all. They were literally complete and total strangers to each other before this particular night. If fate had a twisted sense of humour, he would definitely be laughing right now, finding it hilarious in his own delightfully sick way.

"Here, you need to drink it quickly or it'll taste even worse than it already is..." The boy instructed as he handed over the cup, finally breaking the silence between them.

"Okay, thank you." She muttered a reply. Her hands were icy and lifeless to the touch.

"You're still cold..." The boy was quick to point it out gently, careful not to offend or be intrusive in any way. That was the last thing he needed to do right now.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." She reassured the boy-if that could somehow be considered reassuring-before she edged the cup slightly closer to her mouth. Without even batting an eyelid, she immediately drank the entire cup of strange-looking medicine in one go. The warm, stinging liquid felt like it was burning her throat, but she didn't stop.

As soon as she was done, she suddenly grimaced in pain as she felt a burning sensation in her forehead. Her head was aching painfully as the medicine slowly did its job. But even though the pain would eventually be gone, the bruises would still be there and the scars in her skin would scream, reminding that what had happened that night was very real indeed. It almost felt like someone had stuck a knife in her head as the images of what had happened briefly flashed before her eyes. She couldn't fight it; couldn't help but to remember every single gruesome detail.

**She could still remember the thick smell of blood in the room. It was everywhere, on the walls and the floorboards.**

**She could still feel the coarse rope at her wrists chafing her skin as she laid there on the floor with nothing to accompany her but the cold darkness.**

**She could still remember the deafening silence that came after the door was opened; after her family was murdered before her very eyes.**

**She could still remember the look of terror in her mother's eyes as she-**

"Hey, are you going to be okay?" The boy asked with a tone of concern in his voice.

"Huh? What?" As suddenly as they had come, the terrible memories were gone. Chased back into the darkness by the soothing voice.

She opened her tired eyes to see the boy still standing beside her bed. Still beside her.

"I said, are you going to be okay?" He asked again, noticing a slight change in her eyes' lifeless expression.

"Yes..." She lied as she tightened her grip around the blankets, wrapping them around her legs.

"Thank you. I feel much better now." She said as she gave the empty cup back to the boy.

"No problem..."

The room fell silent again. Seconds crawled by at an annoyingly slow pace, increasing the awkwardness between the two.

The boy continued to stand beside the bed with the empty cup in his hands. He was not in any hurry to leave. The muffled voices coming from the other room were the only sound to be heard from the outside world, the world beyond the wooden door of the room. The voices sounded distressed. Like they were searching for answers they couldn't find.

"Are your parents... angry?" She suddenly asked, breaking the piercing silence and taking their attention away from the voices outside the door.

"What?"

"Are your parents angry?" She repeated the question, averting her eyes from the boy so that they would not meet his gaze. "That you killed those people?"

"Truth is, I don't really care what they think." The boy did not hesitate with his answer. "The men I killed? They weren't even people any more. Just a bunch of worthless animals in human skin, that's all."

"But aren't you worried-"

"There's nothing more to say about it. They were heartless animals, they were trying to hurt us both and we put an end to it. It's what they deserved. All of it. And it's as simple as that..." he said firmly. The boy made it perfectly clear; he had no regrets for what he'd done.. No second thoughts.

Unsure of what else to say, the girl kept quiet. The silence had returned, much to the boy's annoyance. He felt like he should say something to her, but he just couldn't find the right words in his head. "What should I say? Damn it, this is really getting hopeless!" He screamed inside his head as he just stood there restlessly.

"So, are you going to sleep tonight?" She asked, noticing his growing impatience.

"Oh, uh..." He stammered, slightly surprised with her sudden question.

"Yeah, I'm, uh... I'm going to bed right after this." He answered as he nervously scratched the back of his head.

"Where?"

"Huh?"

"Where are you going to sleep? This is your room, right?"

"Uh..." The boy struggled to answer her question. She was right. This small room was in fact, the boy's very own room and it was never built for two people. There wasn't even enough space for any kind of makeshift bed on the floor, so narrow was the place. But that did not stop him from offering his room to the girl. There wasn't even the faintest hint of hesitation in his voice when he did it. No one was more surprised than the girl when he had gladly given her the room to sleep in for the night.

"Don't worry about me. I'll just sleep somewhere else." He said. He tried to be reassuring but he was never really any good at these kinds of things.

The girl simply nodded. "Thank you..." She said.

"I just wanted to give you the medicine." He added as he nervously tightened his grip on the empty cup. "It's supposed to help you sleep and give you plenty of rest."

"I still can't sleep." The girl muttered.

"Why? What's the matter?"

"I'm... It's nothing. I'm just not sleepy right now, that's all." She answered, pulling the blankets over her head.

"Are you still cold?" The boy asked, still remembering her words from back at the cabin.

"...Don't worry, the blankets are fine. Thank you." She said as she slowly laid back down on the bed and gently wrapped herself with the rough blankets. Every single movement she made caused a screech to emanate from the creaky wooden frame of the bed.

"Goodnight." The girl softly whispered from under the blankets. Her entire face was covered by the blanket, with the exception of her still gazing eyes.

"Yeah, you too..."

Well, maybe it really was time for bed. It was getting pretty late, after all. But the boy was still hesitant to leave, partly due to the fact that his parents were still outside but mostly because he still felt like he could have done something else, something much more than just... this. He didn't feel like he had helped at all. He felt useless instead. And how he always hated feeling useless.

The boy took his sweet time leaving the room, slowly dragging his heavy feet towards the nearby door. He could still hear his parents talking outside. He tried his best not to think about what they were discussing. He kept telling himself that what he did was the right thing. He just didn't want to look into the judging and worried eyes of his father or his mother, at least just for tonight. Maybe tomorrow would be different, maybe not.

"Wait..." A sudden thought struck him just as he was about to leave the room. His jaded eyes lit up as he finally noticed something that was out of place with the whole scene. Something that was strangely missing. Something that hadn't been seen or mentioned at all since he first entered the room.

"Hey, where's your scarf?" The boy immediately exclaimed, breaking the silence...

"It's... On the table. Why?" The girl answered quickly. There was a hint of confusion in her voice with the boy's rather abrupt change of behaviour.

The boy turned his head to face her with a bit of excitement in his movements. He quickly walked towards the table and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as he found the maroon scarf lying in the moonlight. It looked to have been folded with great care into a neat bundle atop the table.

"Why did you take it off if you're still cold?" He asked as he quickly took the scarf and returned to the side of the bed.

"I thought... I thought that it belonged to you and I-" The girl stammered in confusion.

"Don't worry about that. I told you that you can have it, didn't I?"

The girl was quiet as she silently gazed at the boy from beneath the blankets. She didn't know what to say or what to think any more. Her head was a complete mess and the bruises were still aching painfully. But she knew that the boy was trying his best to be kind to her and it felt... very nice.

"Here, please get up." he said gently, a stark contrast to the somewhat irritated tone he had before.

The girl did as she was told and slowly emerged from the depths of the blankets to face the young boy yet again.

"It's yours, now." He said as he tenderly wrapped the girl's head with the maroon scarf. He knew that it would help her somehow. He was extra careful not to just throw it on her head this time, so gently did he put it on her.

"It belongs to you now so... So you can wear it as long as you want." He said when he finished, taking a brief second to admire his handiwork. The scarf was clearly too big for the little girl as it covered most of her head, the only thing that showed through was one of her beautiful black eyes. It didn't look that different from the first time he did it, but it was good enough, maybe even decent. At least, it looked a little bit more neat this time.

"Doesn't that feel better?" The boy asked. He felt good inside. He felt helpful.

The girl clutched onto the soft scarf tightly, savouring the comfy warmth it provided. "Yes." she answered with a happy tone. It was the first time she had seemed happy all night.

"Good enough to help you sleep, maybe?" He had a hopeful look in those turquoise eyes of his.

"I... do feel a little sleepy now." The girl lied. She knew what the boy was trying to do.

"Great!" The boy exclaimed as he dragged the little wooden chair behind him closer to the bed.

"Then I'll be here, okay?" He said before seating himself on the chair. "If you don't mind, I want to stay with you tonight. I want to make sure you get all the rest you can get so that you'll feel much better tomorrow, okay?"

"O- Okay?" The girl answered with a surprised tone in her voice as she watched the little boy sit down on the wooden chair, getting as comfortable as he could before steeling himself to face the merciless cold of the night.

The boy sat as still as he could, not moving a single inch as he quietly waited for the girl to finally fall asleep.

Still clutching onto the scarf, the girl slowly laid down and pulled the blankets tighter around herself. Perhaps she could actually get some sleep tonight. Or maybe not, but the least she could do was try.

"Hey... Mikasa, right?"

The girl's eyes lit up as she heard her own name. She had thought that he had already forgotten it or something. Come to think of it, the first time both of them had ever met was under less than ideal circumstances.

"Hm?" She turned her head towards the boy to see him sitting there with both of his hands tightly clutching the wooden arms of the chair. She also saw that his eyes were serious, almost as serious as when she first met him.

"Listen..." He said, looking directly into her eyes. "Don't give up... Don't ever give up, okay?"

"Huh?"

"I want you to... Just- I want you to just keep fighting... Just keep fighting as best as you can and you'll always win. You will live..." he said, tightening his grip on the chair.

"And if you're ever in too much trouble, I'll help you. As long as I'm there, I'll help you as much as I possibly can, okay? And as long as we're together, as long as we keep helping each other, I know that we'll always win, no matter what happens, okay? We can do anything..." He said softly. It was the very first time that the girl had seen anything close to an actual smile on his face.

"As long as we're... together?" She repeated the word, seemingly confused by the notion.

"Anyway, uh..." He stuttered, obviously embarrassed by what he just said. He had never said anything like that before tonight, but it was a night of many firsts for him.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." He said, his cheeks turned a faint shade of crimson as he smiled meekly.

"Goodnight, Mikasa." He quickly turned his eyes away, hiding his red face under the dark shadows of the room.

"Goodnight..." She said warmly as she closed her eyes.

"...Eren." For the first time this night, she could feel herself drifting off into a peaceful sleep, finally...

* * *

**Thank you very much for taking the time to read this story out of so many others. I know it may not be that good but I really hope you enjoyed reading it nonetheless.** **Many thanks to deathmakesapoet, for without whom, this story would never have existed in the first place. ****As always, all reviews and opinions are greatly appreciated. ****Thanks again and I wish you all a very good day.**

**Till the next chapter,**

**-ParagonFlynn**


	2. My Queen of Everything

**The Little Things**

* * *

**My Queen of Everything**

Morning had finally came and the cheerful Sun was already up in the cloudy sky, fulfilling its entrusted task as the harbinger of all things bright and warm to the world below. Life inside the three Walls was already bustling, the citizens were going about their daily tasks as if it was just another ordinary day. Farmers had just finished taking care of their prized crops. Hunters, as few as they were, are already searching for their quarries in the many forests available. Merchants were loudly peddling their wares in the winding streets of the cities as the soldiers of the Stationary Troops had just returned from another one of their uninteresting patrols across the three massive Walls, some of them were very eager to loosen themselves up with the occasional drink or two.

In the Shiganshina District, one of the few cities in the outermost regions of the Wall Maria, a young boy was casually resting on the rooftop of his rather small and quite ordinary house, lazily wasting away the hours of his morning. He had just woken up from his extraordinarily long slumber and hoped that the bright Sun and the gentle morning breeze was enough to get rid of any further drowsiness remaining inside his head.

Like always, he spent his early morning hours just sitting at the edge of the roof and simply gazing into the horizon, watching the towering Wall Maria in the distance. Of course, the massive Wall was easily blocking his entire view and there's nothing he could do to change that. Every day, he would wake up and see the same thing. Every time, the Wall would still be there, trapping him but, also protecting him.

Seeing the same Wall every day though, he couldn't help but to sometimes wonder of the outside world that lies beyond the impenetrable border.

He wonders if the Sun would somehow feel different if he was in a place where he doesn't have to wait for its arrival every morning.

Would the gentle breeze feel even better if he knew he could follow the wind with no end in sight?

Would it feel different if he knew the horizon in the distance would never end?

Would it feel better if he knew he could keep on walking and-

"Eren! Eren!" He heard a familiar voice suddenly calling him out by name, almost startling him from his peaceful tranquillity.

"Down here, boy! Down here!" Eren immediately turned his head downwards and saw none other than Hannes in the street below, amongst the occasional villager or merchants passing by. Eren knows Hannes as one of the soldiers from the Stationary Troops but mostly, as a friend of his father's. What in the world could he possibly want?

"...Hannes? What is it? Why are you here?" Eren shouted back, hopefully his voice could somehow be heard down there.

"Is your father home, Eren? I really need to talk to him about that new 'medicine' he gave me!" Hannes pleaded to know, he seemed very flustered for some reason.

"My dad's not here anymore. He went to his clinic with Mikasa just now. But I think he'll be back soon." The boy answered, not really sure why Hannes was so desperate to know. In fact, this was the first time he ever saw the usually callous Hannes in a very urgent and serious demeanour. It must've been something very important then.

"You mean the little girl?"

"What?!" It was getting harder to hear what he was trying to say from down there. What the hell is stopping him from just getting up here, introduce himself and talk like a normal person already? Why is that so difficult?

"That little girl?" He repeated the question, drastically increasing the volume of his own voice, much to the bewilderment of a few passers-by.

"Yeah, her name's Mikasa. So just- just come back later, okay?"

"Fine, I will..." Looking slightly defeated, Hannes simply walked away before eventually disappearing into the crowd.

_"Well, didn't see that coming."_ The boy said to himself, still confused with what Hannes wants. Why didn't he just go to Dad's clinic if he wanted to talk about that medicine so badly? What is he really trying to hide from everyone? Then again, it's probably something way less mysterious or strange than what Eren's imagining right now, like some kind of bad sickness or embarrassing injury. That sounds a bit more like Hannes, alright... But who knows? He never really understood some of the stuff his father does. One thing for sure is that his Father was definitely a doctor and that means his Dad would help save other people's lives and cure painful illnesses but... there was just some stuff about his Dad that Eren never fully understands yet. Like what's inside that locked basement that he would always forbidden Eren or anyone else from ever getting too close, let alone entering.

Maybe there's actually nothing inside, maybe he's over thinking on something again just like Armin always do but...

What in the world could a simple doctor possibly hide from his very own family?

"Eren, who was that? I thought I just heard you screaming like a madman to someone." To his pleasant surprise, Eren heard the wooden door behind him suddenly opening.

He quickly turned around only to see the reassuring sight of his Mother, carrying a small basket with a bundle of recently washed clothes. They were mostly new, designed for the comfort and warmth of a little girl.

"Oh! Hi, Mom!" Eren exclaimed with a broad smile, all thoughts about his mysterious father was immediately gone in a flash.

"Sorry about that. It was just Hannes. He wanted to talk to Dad, that's all." He reassured her as he leapt onto his feet and immediately rushed to the side of his Mother.

"Well, I wonder what he could've wanted." She smiled thankfully as the young boy took the basket from her hands and carried it all the way to the only clothing line in the middle of the roof, careful to not accidentally drop a single piece of it onto the ground.

"Don't know. Said he wanted to talk about some new 'medicine' Dad gave him." Eren then gently placed the basket on the ground beside the clothing line and playfully clapped his hands, a job well done.

"Oh, I bet it must've been about that painful rash on his back. That poor Hannes..." She explained as she shook her head, her side ponytail was gently fluttering with the morning breeze.

"Rash?" The boy repeated the word, slightly disappointed. It really was nothing mysterious or suspicious, after all.

"Anyway, thanks for the help, Eren." She said as she started taking the washed clothes from the small basket and immediately hanging them up on the clothing line one by one.

"No problem, Mom!" He smiled smugly, feeling a bit proud of himself.

"You know, you really should wake up early more often." She happily exclaimed as she neatly hanged a small white blouse over the line.

"Yeah! Okay, Mom."

"You could help me around the kitchen, for once. Maybe prepare the table and take care of the dirty dishes." She continued.

"Okay, Mom."

"You can also help me clean the living room, it's gotten so very dusty lately." She smiled as she placed a familiar maroon scarf over the line, washed with the hesitant approval of a young girl.

"Okay."

"And you can help me water the potted plants. Sometimes, I don't have enough time to give them any proper care." She chuckled, eager with the thought.

"Uh, okay..."

"With all this extra time, you can even catch up on your studies when you're done helping me." She was almost grinning ear to ear, ever so happy with herself.

"Um..." The boy was getting eerily nervous, all of a sudden.

"Speaking of your studies, have you done your homework yet, Eren?" She suddenly paused from her work to look at the boy, her caring eyes were somehow briefly replaced with a stern one.

"Wha-" The boy almost took a step back from his mother. He was scared and nervous, but mostly perplexed. How did he even get into this situation so suddenly? He was just standing there...

"I- I... I already did it!" He exclaimed, the tinge of awkward uncertainty in his voice was quite apparent.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah! I... I just- I just did it last night! That's right, I did it last night!" He was trying his best not to fumble around with his own words like some kind of idiot.

"But I thought you were already fast asleep right after dinner last night." His Mother seemed very confused by the boy's veiled answer.

"Well, yeah... I- I... I did it before dinner, yeah... Right before dinner." Eren stammered and stuttered, struggling to think of something else to say.

"Hmm..." His Mother simply looked at him, her eyes were silently judging his every movement like some kind of ferocious predator.

"So... When will Dad and Mikasa come back?!" He bluntly asked in an attempt to quickly change the subject, cracking a broad smile to hide the nervousness and pure fear inside him.

"Well... They shouldn't be long now." She answered, seemingly forgetting all about her previous question, much to the boy's sheer relief inside.

"It's only a short check-up so... I guess it's only a matter of time before they're home." She exclaimed, pretty darn sure of herself.

"Oh, okay!" Eren nodded understandingly before he slowly drooped his head down, noticing his nervously shuffling feet.

"Well... I guess I should finish the rest of my chores and go to Armin's place before they're back. Bye, Mom!" He weakly exclaimed, about to turn around and quickly scurry away to escape.

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on there just for a minute, young man." His Mother suddenly shouted, causing his throat to fall heavy in a mere instant.

He quickly swallowed it before hesitantly turning around to face his Mother. "...Y-Yeah, Mom?" He said, bringing a thinly smile on his face.

"Why do you always leave the house when Mikasa's at home?"

"Wha- What do you mean? That's ridiculous!" He chuckled awkwardly at the thought, averting his eyes from his Mother as he does it.

"Well, let's see now..." She was slowly stroking her chin, recalling past events. "First, you wanted to help at your Father's clinic for the entire day."

"Uh..."

"Then the next day, you went out and took an entire day for a delivery errand. That's very impressive on how you did that, by the way."

"Um..."

"Then the day after that, you just wandered around the streets and markets in the city with Armin all day long. Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Okay that one, I-"

"Then finally, now you're saying that you're going to leave the house and visit Armin's place. For how long, I wonder..." His Mother simply droned on and on, causing the boy's body to be restless with every word she said. He just wanted to get out of the place, to disappear right this very instant.

"That... That doesn't mean anything, Mom." He was almost shivering with uncertainty, his head was sunken low to hide his face.

"Well, yeah... It's all very fine and dandy, but... I'm beginning to notice how you're always leaving the house as soon as you could when Mikasa's home. It's kind of strange, actually. It's beginning to make me wonder..." She squinted her eyes, coldly staring at the young boy before her.

"That- That's, uh... No, no, no... You're just imagining things, Mom. I'm fine, really!" He quickly perked himself up, smiling broadly to his Mother in order to show that he's perfectly okay and there's really nothing to be worried about.

All of a sudden, his mother just approached the young Eren, frozen as he was, before immediately crouching down onto one knee so her face would be able to meet his. She gently placed her hand amongst the rustled hair of his head and pulled it ever so slightly closer to hers, strangely quiet as she simply gazed into the jaded eyes of the agitated boy in front of her; her own eyes were yet again, suddenly so dangerously serious.

"...M- Mom?" The boy just stood there, not very sure on what to say as his Mother continued to stare at him in an increasingly uncomfortable way. With his Mother's hand still nestling on the top of his head, he was very much frightened to move even a single inch, fearing the possible consequences that may happen afterwards.

"Mom, what's... What are you doing-"

"What's wrong, Eren?! Is there something wrong with you and Mikasa?" His Mother suddenly blurted out, greatly shocking the young boy.

"What? Why would you say that? I'm fine, really! We're fine!" Eren nervously smiled, almost overwhelmed with the pressure of his mother's searing gaze.

"Never doubt me, Eren! And don't lie to me like that ever again. I've thought I taught you better than that!" She sternly lectured the rattled boy, very certain with herself.

"But- But- What? I... I didn't lie at all. There is- There's really nothing going on-" Eren hopelessly stammered in his own defense.

"No, Eren, you were definitely lying. A good mother can tell these kinds of things, you know! And I can definitely tell when something is troubling my poor Son's mind!" She explained as she proudly nodded her head, her arms were firmly crossed against each other, exuding her confidence.

"..." He didn't exactly know what to say to that.

"So, Eren..." She faced the young boy's eyes yet again, gently placing a hand of comfort on his shoulder this time. "What's wrong with you and Mikasa?"

"Um..." The boy was very hesitant to say anything; he really didn't want to bring it up at all, worried of what his Mother will think of him.

"So, do you... like her?"

"Huh?"

"I said, do you like her, Eren? You know... Do you have a little crush on her or something?" She was slyly smiling now, her eyebrows suggestively raised as she slightly nudged the boy's sheepish shoulders.

"MOM, NO! NO WAY!" His flustered cheeks turned into a stark crimson colour within mere seconds.

"Don't be so ashamed, Eren. It's perfectly natural for a young boy to have a crush on a cute little girl like Mikasa."

"Mom, it's seriously nothing like that!" He was frantically waving his arms, denying all the possibilities thrown in the air.

"Why not? You two are just so perfectly adorable together. Maybe you should give it a try-"

"OKAY, okay!" He screamed for it all to stop, his crimson cheeks was almost bursting at the seams. "If I... If I tell you what's wrong, would you stop with all that nonsense?"

"We'll see." She smiled.

"Okay, fine then..." Eren finally let out a sigh of complacency. Might as well get it over with then.

"It's just... Mikasa. I just think..." He took a deep lasting breath, briefly hoping to calm his nerves, "I can't... stand being with her anymore."

"That's not a very nice thing to say, Eren." The smile on her face was gone, as quick as it had come.

"Well, yeah... That's why I didn't want to say anything about it." He turned his head away, trying to avoid that annoying gaze of his Mother. He never did liked it when she had that worried look in her eyes.

"But, Eren, why would you say something like that about her?"

"I don't know, okay? I really don't know. Maybe... It's just- It's..." He was trying to find the right words to say, but he just couldn't think of anything.

"Maybe... Maybe it's just the way how she acts, I guess. It's so weird how- How she doesn't really talk to me or anyone else, she always- Most of the time, I can't even get a proper conversation out of her, just... just a few words here and there. I just can't think of anything to say when I'm with her..." The boy unknowingly clenched his fists, struggling to even utter the words to his Mother.

"Then... And then I would always see her quietly sitting somewhere in the house all by herself; every time I found her, every time I saw her, she just seemed so empty, so sad. There was this one time when I saw her just sitting right outside my new room, I didn't know what to do when I saw her face... I just figured... I just figured that she must've been bored sitting in the house all day or something, so I tried to give her a few of my old toys. But nothing, I still got nothing out of her..." His head was slowly drooping down with every word spoken, disobeying the constant desire to simply turn around his restless feet and leave.

"When I ask her what's wrong, she would always say the same thing and that she's fine or some other excuse. I didn't know what else to do anymore so I just started avoiding her altogether. I'm sorry, Mom, but I tried everything I could and I just can't understand her one bit. I just can't..."

"I couldn't bear to keep seeing her like that anymore..." The boy realized he had fallen quiet, deathly so, as he wasn't sure of what to say anymore.

Taking his silence as a chance for her to finally speak, she softly asked the boy a question. A question that has been lingering inside her head for quite a long while now.

"Eren..." She whispered.

"Don't you remember what you've done that night, what you've done to save Mikasa? Aren't you... glad that you saved her?"

Eren didn't say anything immediately, he was still very much quiet as he looks back at that one terrible night and all the blood and painful death that had happened in it. He could never forget the images of what happened that day, no one could, especially the little girl.

It has been like, what? Give or take, it's been almost an entire week ever since that tragic night, but nobody tries to talk about it anymore, nobody tends to bring it up or give it anymore thought. It's all over, at least, Eren silently hopes so.

He just wants everyone to forget it all ever happened and moved on with their lives as if that night had never existed in the first place. He wanted people to stop looking at him with those goddamn judgemental eyes of theirs. He wanted people to stop asking him about what he did at that night and just leave him alone already. He wanted everything to just go back to normal again... But he also knew the scarred little girl was clear proof that was pretty much impossible right now...

"No, I'm not glad." Eren finally answered.

"...Why not? Didn't you just save her life?" She seemed to be partially confused by the boy's answer.

"I know what those bad people were planning to do to her. I know I had to put a stop to what they were doing before it gets worse... So, I had to do what I did... I couldn't think of anything else that night so, I saw my chance and I just went after it. All I could think was that I had to save her, that's all... I just wanted to save her..." He tightened the grip around his hands, keeping his gaze firmly onto his feet below.

"But- Now... Now I wished I never had to do it in the first place..."

"I just wished that it all never happened and we never met... I just wish- I just wish she still had her own family. Maybe then, she would be normal. Maybe then, she'll be okay..." His eyes of turquoise started to water ever so slightly, but he tries his very best not to let it show.

"Eren, listen..." He heard his Mother's honey-toned voice.

"You can't just blame Mikasa for being the way she is right now, you can't be angry at her for the way she is acting. What had happened to you both that night was very, very horrible and no one in this entire world deserves to see what both of you had seen. It can take a massive toll out of anyone's own well-being, let alone a poor little girl..."

"Yeah, I know. I know..." He muttered, unknowingly gripping onto his own arms.

"But..." She smiled as she gently clasped onto the boy's soft cheeks. "I know for sure now, that she is going to be just fine in the end."

"Huh? But- What..." He raised his head towards his Mother.

"Why? It's because she had the sheer luck of having the sweetest and kindest little boy I had ever known taking care of her. Thankfully, he has a good head on his shoulders and a greater heart inside him. But sure, he might be a bit emotional sometimes and he gets very angry most of the times, but I now know he understands what's important and he would do anything he can for the good of everyone..."

"...M- Mom?" Using the long sleeve of her blouse, his Mother carefully wiped the few tears from his watering eyes.

"She is going to be just fine, Eren." She whispered ever so softly in that calming voice of hers, "She's still far from it but I think she'll be okay, you'll see."

"But- But- How? I... I've tried everything and... And-"

"And you did a fantastic job on it. Why, look how much better she has gotten already!" She beamed.

"Wait, what- What do you mean? That- That's impossible... I- I couldn't-" The boy was incredibly confused. What in the world did she meant?

"Couldn't get anything out of her? You might be right, Eren, but look at it this way, she may not say very much to you but at least, she's already talking to someone else."

"What?"

"Eren, you could actually get more than just a few words out of her and that's really incredible in its own sense."

"I- I could?" He never did realize that everyone else was having trouble speaking with the little girl.

"And it's truly amazing that you keep finding her around the house all the time. It's very surprising indeed, when it's almost impossible just to make her leave her own room, let alone leave the house this morning."

"Huh... I... I never thought about it that way before." The boy admitted in a low voice, wondering about the girl's strange behaviour towards him. Why was he so different, above all others?

"But... why? Why would she be like that to me?"

"It's hard to say what's going on inside her head right now. Maybe it's because she just wanted to see you, maybe you're the only one here that she genuinely knows and trusts. But one thing's for sure, she responds to you even better than anyone else, even your own Father. You might be the closest thing she has to a friend right now..."

"So... So, what should I do?"

"Well, instead of just being frustrated with her, maybe you should just take a chance and spend some more time with her. Don't just give her a toy or something, get closer to her. JUst Spend a whole day with her and try to get to know her a little bit more. Who knows what'll happen next? You might just warm up to her..." She raised a proud but sincere smile at her Son.

The boy paused, briefly averting his eyes from his Mother to reflect on her words. He still doesn't know what to do with Mikasa, he knew for certain that there was nothing he could possibly change to make her become 'normal' again. But for now, all he knew is that he just wanted to save the girl, he just wanted to make her feel better, he wanted to see her be 'okay'...

And he was willing to do anything for that ever distant goal.

"Okay, Mom!" With clenched hands, he quickly rubbed his eyes, clearing any traces of self-doubt within them.

"I'll try my best!" Eren declared with a bright grin, a far cry to the self-doubting boy not a few minutes ago.

"That's great to hear, Eren!" She exclaimed with a happy smile, her hand gently stroking his very rustled hair. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it-"

***SLAM***

The ever familiar sound of the front door closing immediately caught both of their attentions, easily interrupting the conversation between them. Both of their eyes quickly lit up as soon as they had heard that distinct sound of the wooden door of the house, it was the clear sign that the boy's Father had returned, along with their very special guest.

"Oh!" No one was more surprised by the sound than his own Mother.

"They're already back home!" She gasped, seemingly in great shock.

Without missing a beat, she deftly hurried her way back to the clothing line and simply continued her work with the laundry as if nothing had ever happened.

"I better finish this quick or there won't even be time to make lunch today!" She just sighed as she placed a small brown tunic over the clothing line amongst the rest of the laundry.

"Oh my, I'm a bit off schedule now." She couldn't help but to chuckle at her own situation. "I guess I have to start the-"

She was very surprised indeed when she found her Son suddenly besides her, his skinny arms were firmly wrapped around her waist as he buried his head against her. She was slightly taken aback at the mere sight, surprised at the boy's sudden spur of the moment. She hasn't seen this kind of affection from him for quite a long while now, ever since that dreadful night, in fact. She had missed the feeling...

Eren raised his head upwards, the broad grin still on his face.

"Thanks, Mom..." He whispered softly.

"You're... You're welcome, dearie." She gently patted on the little boy's head again, smiling oh so sweetly. "Now go and run along now, Eren. You're free for the day."

"...R- R- Really?" His broad grin grew even bigger in an instant somehow, he could scarcely believe the mere mention of those magical words.

"That's right, Eren! You can do your homework later tonight."

"Um, what? What did- But... But I- I didn't... I-" He could then feel his heart suddenly skipping a beat as his previously excited grin was frozen, the baffling look inside his eyes almost made his Mother laugh.

"I just told you, Eren, didn't I? A good Mother can tell these kinds of things!" She nodded her head, proud of herself.

"Oh, yeah... About that, I-" His grin eventually morphed into a quivering smile, unsure of what to say to his Mother.

"Don't worry about it! It gives me a chance to chance to check your work later, anyways." She laughed, reassuring the young boy's erratic senses somewhat.

"Oh, okay... I- Okay..." He tried to play it off like it was actually nothing, secretly breathing an immense sigh of relief inside him. At least, for now.

"Now go on and have a great day, Eren."

With a bright smile still glazed all over his face, the boy's little feet began to slowly shuffle backwards as he frantically waved goodbye towards his Mother, "Bye, Mom! I love you!" He screamed to the world, but only his own Mother would be there to hear it.

"I love you too, Eren..." She happily waved back, glad and even relieved to see some genuine excitement back inside her Son.

The boy immediately bolted back into the house as he left his beloved Mother behind, excitedly making his way down through the rest of the house and towards the kitchen. As soon as he had arrived downstairs, the first person he saw was his Father and besides him, for the first time since that horrible night, he was also glad to see their special guest, the quiet girl known as Mikasa.

Newly returned from their short trip to his Father's clinic, he saw them both talking right in front of the entrance of the house:

"I'm sorry that you still have to wear those bandages, Mikasa, but it should only be a few more days now before it's healed perfectly." He heard his Father's serious words of concern in the distance.

"It's okay, Mr. Yeager. I don't mind..." She simply answered with that constant emotionless expression of hers.

"Dad, you're back!" His Father was pleasantly surprised when he saw the young boy rushing down the wooden stairs of the house.

"Eren, you're up very early today." His father exclaimed, smiling at the sudden sight of his Son. His Father couldn't help but to wonder why the young boy seemed strangely very happy this morning.

"That's right, Dad. And plus, Mom made me free for the rest of the day!" Now it wasn't such a mystery for his Father...

"Did she, now? Then, what do you plan to do for the entire day? Something constructive, I hope." His Father playfully enquired with a tired smile.

"Don't worry, Dad, I already have a few ideas." Eren casually answered before he eventually turned his hesitant gaze towards the quiet girl next to the front door. She was standing perfectly still, leaning against the walls as her empty eyes were fully directed to the shuffling feet below her. It was as if she was actually trying to blend into the background and simply fade away, as impossible as it obviously was.

"Um... Hey, Mikasa..." He softly called her name, a bit of the nervous hesitation in his voice.

"Hmm?" She raised her head to meet the boy's, seemingly very surprised to suddenly hear her own name coming from his voice. Using one of her hands, she slowly parted the long fringes of her raven-coloured hair, revealing those empty eyes of hers that the young boy just couldn't bear to see. The bruises on the edge of her lip and on her left cheek was neatly bandaged, one of the few unwanted relics of that dreadful night that still remains.

"Uh... So... Do- Well, do you want to come with me, Mikasa?" He said as he gazed directly into her eyes, slowly extending an open hand towards her.

"Huh? But... But why?" She was at first, distancing herself from the boy's sudden approach.

"I- Um... I just want to spend my free day with you, that's all. So..." He was carefully picking his words, not really sure of the reaction he will get from her.

"So, I guess you're either coming with me or we're not going to do anything today!" Eren suddenly exclaimed with a joking tone in his voice, a mask for the uncertainty inside him and also, to hopefully lighten the expression on his face.

Mikasa did not answer immediately, much to the boy's unsurprised fear. Instead, she simply stared into the nervous windows of his eyes. What was going inside her head this time, the boy always wonders whenever he sees her eyes...

"Okay." With her arms laced tightly around herself, it felt like forever before she finally complies, suddenly approaching closer and closer to the young boy.

She reached for his outstretched hand and gently held onto it, it was warm to the touch. It feels... nice.

"What... What are we going to do then?" She asked, still looking directly into the eyes of the boy, increasing the nervousness inside him tenfold.

Eren quickly mustered up a weak smile in response, "I want to introduce you to a friend of mine... His name's Armin, I think you're going to like him, Mikasa."

"...Okay." She answered, tightening her grip around his hand...

"Don't be late now, Eren. I want you to be back home before the Sun starts to set." His Father suddenly chimed in, a distant look of amazement and interest was written behind those ever so serious glasses of his as he witnessed the odd interaction between the boy and their guest. Above all, he was very surprised indeed to see how the young girl was so compliant and responsive to his Son. He wonders if it could help change everything...

"No problem, Dad! I'll be back before you even know it." He jokingly reassured his Father as he turned and approached the front door, little girl in tow.

Eren promptly swung the wooden door open, the warmth of the Sun and the gentle morning breeze was the first to greet them to the outside world. He briefly turned around and smiled a reassuring smile at the girl behind him. With the girl's hand still gently brushing against his, he didn't feel as nervous or as scared as he did before, for some unexplained reason. Maybe his Mother was right all along, maybe the young girl will finally be 'okay' again, he definitely hopes so...

"Let's go, Mikasa." Eren spoke softly.

"Okay, Eren." She smiled.

The children finally left the house behind as they slowly made their way to the house of the boy's only friend, together, hand in hand...

* * *

**Hello there, everyone!**

**I hope you have enjoyed reading the chapter! I do apologize for taking too long to finish it, though... I would try to put on a deadline on myself but I'm a dreadfully slow writer and also, I was worried that this chapter might be slightly out of character during the topic of discussion held within it, but nonetheless, I do hope you all have liked it and if not, I'm terribly sorry! Like always, any reviews and opinions are definitely appreciated. Tell me why you liked it or tell me why you despise it! I don't mind, but you might break my heart into many little pieces. **

**Anyway, I wish you all a very good day and thanks again for reading!**

**Till the next chapter,**

**-ParagonFlynn**


	3. A New Determination

**The Little Things**

* * *

**A New Determination**

"Come on, Armin! Hurry up already, you're slowing down back there!"

A young boy's voice loudly echoes amongst the various streets and alleyways of Shiganshina, the streets were strangely empty and completely devoid of any other people. It was usually at this time of the afternoon where almost everyone else in the city was too busy spending the rest of their day away in the bustling markets or at the crowded main square, going about their everyday lives and jobs. It was at this time of the hour that bears the perfect chance for a small group of children to freely play around in the winding streets of the city without any kind of interruptions or obstacles whatsoever, an obvious far cry from the usual rooms of a simple house.

"Slow down, Eren, please slow down!" A boy with bright blonde hair desperately yelled in the alleyways of the city as he struggles to just keep up with his overly-energetic friend.

"No way, Armin! Not this time! Mikasa's right behind you!" Eren briefly shone a cocky grin towards Armin before immediately rushing forward, leaving the poor sap behind like it was nothing.

Normally, Eren would rush without even thinking and leap at the chance to help his best friend whenever he finds himself in some kind of trouble but today, he felt absolutely no remorse at all as he left his poor friend behind. There's too much on the line to just carelessly throw away a possible victory... He couldn't even remember the last time he had actually won so he wasn't going to let this rare chance to slip away from his grasp anytime soon. Armin will surely understand, his brave sacrifice will be forever remembered by Eren as he quickly made his way towards his lofty goal.

Speaking of which, he was almost there too - he could already see it. At the end of the winding alleyway, at the bottom of the cobbled steps, there lies a massive oak tree, rusted away by the slow decay of time as it stands firmly alone.

"I got this! I totally got this!" He reassured himself with a bout of self-confidence. He was almost at the safe zone!

He quickened his pace even more and madly dashed down those cobbled steps in a very alarming rate, it was only through sheer luck and the boy's light build that he didn't somehow just slip and fall down. That would certainly be painful...

"I'm going to win~!" The boy extended his hand outwards, eager to feel the coarse bark of the oak tree against the skin of his hand.

He desperately needs it, Eren could almost taste the victory within his hand...

And it was then, Mikasa suddenly emerged from the back of the tree and simply walked a few steps forward, easily blocking Eren's path.

"Wha- What the...?!" The boy gawked, he was nothing but at the loss of words as he desperately commanded his feet to stop at once.

In his hasty confusion, Eren accidentally tripped against his own feet and fell right down onto his bottom, mere inches in front of the callous Mikasa. He quickly looked up, his eyes were frozen with pure fear and debilitating shock. He tried to move his petrified body but for some strange reason, he simply could not do anything, intimidated by the striking maroon colours of the scarf around her neck.

"Ho- How in the- What-"

"I got you, Eren..." She mumbled with a meek smile, gently brushing his soft hair with her hand.

"I- I- But, I..."

During the ensuing silence, you could almost hear the distant and muffled sound of the boy's heart and dignity shattering into nothing but mere pieces ouch...

"Eren, Eren! Wait for me, Eren!" The awkward silence was quickly pierced when Mikasa saw Armin rushing down the cobbled stairs, his eyes were tightly closed as he made his final mad dash towards the tree.

He mustered a smile, full of pure relief as he could already feel that he was getting closer and closer. Just to be sure though, Armin then peered through his half-opened eyes, wanting to catch a satisfying glimpse of the safe zone known as the mighty oak tree. So, he was definitely very surprised indeed, when he saw Mikasa in front of him instead and a completely frozen Eren on the ground next to her.

"Mi- Mi- Mikasa!" Armin stammered in a desperate panic as he stopped dead right on his tracks. "It's- But, I thought-"

"I got you too, Armin..." Mikasa repeated the dreaded word as she gently poked Armin's forehead a few times.

"I- I... But, how did... How?"

Armin was confused, Eren was baffled, Mikasa was the winner and the electrifying game of freeze tag was finally over for the day...

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a minute!" Eren quickly snapped himself free of his baffling trance before he immediately leapt back onto his feet, clearly flustered by the recent turn of events. "Just hold on for one damn second!"

"How did you get here so freaking fast, Mikasa? I thought- Well, I thought I lost you at the market stalls!" Eren demanded to know, loudly.

"It's fine, Eren. Mikasa won again, so let's just play another game already, okay?" Armin, as always, tries to defuse the often temperamental Eren.

"No, it's not fine, Armin! I need to know about this! How is she so fast?" And as always, Eren was quick to ignore the sensible pleas of his best friend.

"So, tell me your secret, Mikasa! How can you always beat us at tag? How do you keep doing this? Tell me!" Eren begged and pleaded for an answer, just to make some kind of sense of the situation.

"I ran here." Mikasa replied.

"Huh?" Eren looked at the little girl before him, stunned. "You... You just... ran here?"

"Yes, I just put one foot in front of the other one and then, before you know it, I'm already here." She calmly explained as she cracked a smile and played around with the fringes of her long raven-black hair, secretly proud of her own achievement.

"Ah... I... I see." Eren sighed, feeling defeated and doesn't really know what else to say to that.

"So, that's how." He forced a loud cough and averted his embarrassed eyes from the girl.

His previously confused anger was gone as quick as it had came. He knew he couldn't stay angry all the time, especially not at her. He just couldn't do such a thing even if he had tried his best. But still, that almost sounded like it's the closest thing to an actual joke... He had originally thought that humour was a foreign concept to her nowadays. Was she actually getting back to 'normal', finally?

"Alright then!" Eren yelled as he thunderously clapped his hands, a veiled attempt to quickly change the rather embarrassing topic at hand. "So, Armin, Mikasa what should we play next?"

"Hey, Armin, you got any suggestions?"

"Well, well, well, um..." Armin scratched his head as he tries his best to think of a game that he has a decent chance in actually winning. "I... I got nothing... Sorry about that."

"Okay then, Mikasa!" The boy slightly inclined his head towards the girl and smiled, "Got any idea for a game to play? Anything you prefer?"

"I'm fine with whatever you decide, Eren." She answered, tucking her face under that scarf she always wears.

"Hmm..."

"Well, how about a simple race? We haven't played that for a while now. How about, first one to the markets and back to this oak tree wins?"

"Sure, why not?" Mikasa shrugs as she agreed.

"But, uh... Eren..." Armin suddenly chimed in, grabbing the attention of the other two.

He gulped and sighed, almost too embarrassed to admit it himself, "I'm, uh... I really don't think I can keep up with you guys if it's just a race. I don't think my legs can handle anymore running right now."

"Yeah, Armin's right. Can't we think of something else? Something less... draining?" Mikasa smiled at the worn out boy, whom was still carefully pacing himself and trying to catch his breath after the last game.

"Alright, then!" Eren immediately declared with such confidence as he crossed his arms and held his head high, seemingly having an idea already. "My suggestion is... Let us play the ever honourable game of the classic hide and go se-"

***BONG***

"Huh?"

***BONG***

"What's going o-"

***BONG***

"Wait, is it-""

***BONG***

"Yeah, I think it really is!

The childrens' little game was interrupted when the metallic bells of the Clocktower suddenly rang throughout the entire city of Shiganshina, its deafening echoes were a familiar and known sign for anyone, especially to the young Eren, whom seemingly reveled at the repeated resonance of those bells.

"The heroes has returned, yet again!" Eren suddenly proclaimed, his arms reaching for the sky as he was flushed with overwhelming joy and excitement. "The heroes has finally returned from their journey!"

"Oh..." Mikasa kept quiet.

"The Scouting Legion! It's the Scouting Legion, Mikasa! The heroes that I keep telling you all about, remember?"

"Come on! I''ll show them to you again!" Eren shouted with such excited fervour as he grabbed onto the sleeves of Mikasa's pink blouse and Armin's blue jacket. "Maybe this time we'll get a better look at the soldiers!"

Eren lowered his knees as he braced himself, excitedly getting ready to just unleash a sudden burst of stamina from some strange reserve hidden somewhere inside his body and leap off, making his way closer towards the main streets where the Scouting Legion will eventually pass through while dragging his friends all the way with him - or at least, that's what he had planned to do.

But, much to the surprise of the spirited boy, the sudden feeling of Mikasa's painfully firm hand clutching against his, immediately halted his every movements.

"Mi- Mikasa?" The boy glanced at the girl, wide-eyed.

"I think it's time for us to go back home, Eren." Mikasa exclaimed, tightening her hold on Eren's hand.

"Wait, what? We can't just turn back and go back home... We haven't even-"

"Eren, remember you promised us that you'll play just a few games before you finish your work." Mikasa affirmed herself as she gave the confused boy that same strict look she would always give whenever she's very serious about something important. "Well, it's already been a few games already. So, you better go back and finish it before your Mom finds out."

"But- But... Wha-" The flustered boy was at a loss of words. Not once in his eager excitement did he ever expected Mikasa would suddenly stop him, out of the blue.

But thinking as quickly as his young mind could, Eren stole a glance at his quiet friend, Armin, and smiled a hopeful smile as a sudden but desperate idea immediately popped inside his head. He had no high hopes of it succeeding but still... It was a chance he was willing to take.

"Well then..." Armin chimed in softly, an exasperated but relieved look in his eyes. "I guess we really should just call it a-"

"But wait, Mikasa! What about Armin?" Eren squealed.

"Eh?"

"What about Armin?"

"Yeah, what about me?!" Armin exclaimed in a shocked and furious manner, clearly taken aback by the sudden call of his name.

Through sheer skill and extreme luck, Eren somehow managed to slip out from the Iron Grip of the little girl and lunged himself at his poor friend, placing both of his hands on Armin's stiff shoulders and immediately pulled the frightened boy closer and closer, until his face was but a few inches before Eren's.

"Quick, Armin! Talk some sense into her already!" Eren whispered.

"What?! Why?! Why me?" Armin struggled as he tries to pull his shoulders free, he certainly did not like this level of physical contact.

"Don't tell me you're okay with this."

"Actually, I kinda am." Armin mustered a meek smile.

"Don't you want to see the Scouting Legion? It's not everyday we get to see our heroes!"

"But, Eren... I-"

"Come on, Armin! You're the smart one over here! So say something smart already! Use a bunch of fancy words or something!"

"Well, what about..." Armin stifled a nervous chuckle as he noticed Mikasa directing her searing gaze towards his ever nervous blue eyes.

"Don't worry, Armin." Said Eren, seemingly understanding to what he was referring to. "I have faith in you."

"Huh? Wha-"

"Good luck, my friend..." Eren then pushed his nerve-wrecked friend directly towards the young girl's direction.

Armin stumbled forward a few steps like a drunkard before he finally stopped right before the serious expression of the little girl.

"Um..." The boy mumbled. "Uh... Hey, Mikasa, I-"

"Armin, I'm sorry but we're going ho-"

"But, Mikasa! Um..." The boy tries his best to carefully pick out the right words from his surprisingly vast vocabulary and maybe, just maybe, if he is lucky enough, coerce the frightening girl somehow.

"Mikasa, it's not everyday we get a chance to catch a glimpse of the Scouting Legion and all of its soldiers. As you may already know, Eren and I had always admired their bravery and desire to explore the Outside World so, this is probably a very rare opportunity and a great experience for people like us and it will be a dreadful waste to just throw it away by going home right now. Basically, I am humbly requesting that you should just give us a bit more time and let us-"

"Armin, we are going home. That is final." She glared.

"Okay, Mikasa! Whatever you say!" Armin gladly agreed in a heartbeat.

"Wha- What? Armin, I- I... Really?" Eren was stunned, to say the least.

"Hey, what can I say? Mikasa's pretty great at convincing people." Armin simply smiled nonchalantly.

"That didn't sound very smart, Armin..." Eren sulked, his head was drooping ever so slightly.

"That's enough, Eren. That's enough..." Mikasa grabbed one of the boy's shoulders. "Let's just go home. You still got work to do..."

"Why do you have to do this, damn it?"

"Come on, Eren, you promised."

"Agh, fine! Fine..." The boy loudly moaned in the most grievous and annoyed manner possible, wondering what had suddenly got into the little girl's mind. "Why did you have to bring up homework all of a sudden, Mikasa? That's like... That's like the ultimate mood-breaker..."

With a heavy sigh and a heavier heart, Eren hesitantly and very slowly turned around and climbed the cobbled staircase, grumbling a variety of curses to himself as he took each regretted step. "Stupid homework... Why do I even have to study all those numbers? What's the point in all of it?"

Armin couldn't help but to slightly chuckle at the sight of the overbearing Eren, hiding the overwhelming disappointment inside him with a plain expression.

"Well, I guess I should start going home too. Grandpa might need some help around the house or something."

"Okay, Armin." Mikasa nodded, a solemn gaze in her otherwise empty eyes. "Sorry about this..."

"Don't worry about it, I understand. I really do..." He said, as he started taking his first few steps up the cobbled staircase.

"Oh! And by the way, Mikasa..." He stopped.

"Hm?" The girl raised her head.

"Please take good care of Eren, okay? And tell him I'm sorry that I didn't helped much today..."

"Okay, Armin. I will..." She smiled.

And with that, Armin gave Mikasa another one of his plain and simple smiles before promptly making his way to the very top, leaving the little girl alone with the sturdy oak tree.

The girl silently stood there beside the tree, taking a brief moment to gaze towards the only road directly leading to the main streets of Shiganshina. She was certain that the Survey Corps was already making their slow and painful march through it by now. Who knows what had happened to them beyond the Walls or what they had gone through outside? She wasn't exactly that gleefully ecstatic to find out though...

But to be honest, Mikasa was always confused with the whole Scouting Legion thing at first. The prospect of leaving behind your families, friends and everything you had ever known as you give your lives to fight what lies outside the Walls was very mind-boggling, to say the least. She thinks she could remember her parents mentioning about these people at some point, maybe even why they were willing to do such a thing. But... Everything about her family was just nothing but a confusing blur ever since, well... Ever since that terrible night.

She cursed herself for breaking her own promise to never think about that night anymore, she desperately wants to forget all the horror, she just wants to-

"Hey, Mikasa! What's the hold up down there?" A familiar voice called out for the dawdling young girl.

Quickly snapping out of her contemplating trance, Mikasa turned her head away from the lonely road and towards the cobbled staircase behind her, seeing the familiar and calming sight of her two only friends, Eren and Armin, already at the very top as they patiently waits for her.

"Are we going home or not? Come on! Let's go already!" Eren shouted out loud, still a bit disheartened at the current events.

She sighed and stifled a meek smile at the two boys as she finally started her climb, ascending the stone steps.

She still never understands why the Scouting Legion would commit their lives to such a distant goal. But one thing's for certain, it was painfully obvious that Eren wants to be among their ranks and venture beyond the safety of the Walls. As much as she hates it, she knew there's nothing she could ever do to change his mind once it's set on something, a simple fact that scares her truly...

But Mikasa is also very determined, herself. Even if she just can't simply make him change his mind or make him forget everything about the Scouting Legion and their life-threatening goals, she still has to try her best, no matter what happens next. Mikasa can't bear to lose anyone else, she will do whatever it takes to protect those who are dear and important to her heart. She knew what she has to do - She will protect her new parents, she will protect her newfound friend, she will protect Eren...

"Well, it's about time, Mikasa." Eren muttered.

"Patience is a virtue, Eren..." Armin stifled a chuckle.

"I'm sorry..." She smiled as she grabbed onto Eren's hand.

"Let's go home..."

* * *

**Hello again!**

**Thank you for taking the time to read another chapter of my story. I really hope you enjoyed it! First things first, I would like to apologize for taking such a long time to write this chapter in particular. Apart from my dreadfully slow writing, I had to rewrite this chapter almost 4-5 times as I was just not satisfied with how it turned out. I only hope that the final version is good enough after all the time it took. Secondly, after multiple questions, I just wanted to point out that the description is actually based on a series of events in the manga. Meaning, it's not some original story that I cooked up out of nowhere. I'm glad to finally clear that up for you. And lastly, as always, all reviews are wholeheartedly appreciated.**

**Once more, thanks again for reading.**

**Till the next chapter,**

**-ParagonFlynn**

**P.S. On a completely unrelated note, if by chance you happen to be a fan of Digimon, then why don't you check out the works of Erik T. Jameson? He is a very dear friend of mine and he likes to write fanfictions about Digimon. He is a wonderful writer and he has already written 10 stories, all entirely about Digimon. I do not wish to 'advertise' or to offend anyone but I would really appreciate it if you could look into your heart and just give my best friend a chance. Thank you very much.**


	4. Perfectly 'Normal'

**The Little Things**

* * *

**Perfectly 'Normal'**

* * *

"You're incredible, Eren! I really don't know how you can keep enduring it like that, Eren..."

Armin smiled gleefully as he took a small bite on his piece of bread, slathered all over with the sweetest strawberry jam and coated with a dash of flour sugar - one of his favorite types of snack.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Eren asked before he took a large bite of his own piece of bread, as bland and empty as it is compared to Armin's, he was never really known for paying any attention to the flavours of his food whatsoever.

Both of Eren's parents was out of the house for the entire day and he was too busy using this as a perfect chance to get another look at the various crudely drawn pictures on the ancient tome that Armin would always smuggle along whenever he comes to pay a visit. Whenever he saw these pictures, his eager mind would always wander off, trying their best to imagine a world of what the words had faintly described.

With the immense help of Armin's book, the boys would always secretly gather together on days just like this very one and try to imagine themselves of how it feels to be standing in a land of freezing ice or the endless waves of sand and dirt or even a place filled to the brim with water and salt, planning everything they could possibly do in such places.

"Whhaagt. Argh. Yough. Talqing. Abot. Errmin?" With his eyes still glued onto the old book, Eren asked again, one word at a time as his mouth was mostly muffled and almost filled to the brim with the crumbs of bread.

"Uh, well..." Armin swallowed what's left of the food inside his mouth as his eyes slowly wandered away towards the wooden ceiling of his friend's new bedroom, a bit uncertain of what to exactly say next.

"Well, Eren, you knooooow what I mean..." He droned on playfully as he rolled his piercing blue eyes around, repeatedly glancing in one particular direction, over and over and over again.

"Hmm?" Eren, very perplexed at first, eventually began to follow the very same direction of his friend's eyes, all the way towards the doorway of his room, only to see it was standing slightly ajar.

"Well, that's a bit strange." Eren seemed so confused. "I could've sworn I already closed the door before..."

Not wanting to waste another second and worried of what might've happened next, Eren immediately leapt onto his own two feet and marched his way towards the doorway as Armin simply smiled on and just continuing on to enjoy his favorite snack. "Don't be too angry now, Eren."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Armin..." Eren retorted, still a bit confused with his friend's words but he just ended up shrugging it off like it was nothing important. After all, he just wants to get back to the ancient book as soon as humanly possible.

Even with his parents out of the house for the entire day, Eren still needs to be extra careful to keep the existence of Armin's ancient tome hidden away from their eyes. You could never know if something completely unexpected would happen all of a sudden and his parents would somehow discover the boys' little secret of them trying to learn more about the Outside World. He doesn't even want to imagine what would've happen next if that were to actually happen...

He immediately perished such a thought as Eren casually approaches the door, grabbing onto its dull metallic doorknob as soon as he had arrived, clearly with the intent of simply closing the door as any sane person in this world would do.

But, boy, was he very shocked indeed when Eren noticed the two beady eyes peering through the small and narrow opening of his door.

"AAAAGH!" Eren reeled his entire body back, stunned.

With his hand still firmly around the doorknob, Eren accidentally threw his bedroom door wide open as he leapt backwards in a sudden panic, only to see the young Mikasa standing idly by outside his bedroom.

"M- Mi- MIKASA?!" Eren couldn't even muster any proper words as his heart was too busy skipping a few beats. It almost felt like he had saw an actual ghost.

W- Wha- What in the..." He kept stammering, struggling to force the words outside his mouth.

"What... What the hell are you doing? Are you... Are you trying to scare me to death?!"

"Oh, Eren..." She mumbled in a hushed tone, her head held low as she tries not to look at Eren's strikingly turquoise eyes.

"What a strange coincidence to see you here." She said it normally and without any emotion, as if she's trying to play it off like it was nothing.

"Coincidence?! This is my room, damn it!" Eren was certainly not amused, however.

"Oh, really? I didn't even notice..."

"How in the bloody hell can you not notice?! Why can't you just-" Eren suddenly stopped mid-sentence as he paused, took one very deep breath and let out the heaviest sigh of his life.

"Okay, okay, okay, look..." Eren whispered, seemingly calming down ever so slightly. "What are you even doing, Mikasa? How long have you been out there?"

"Are you angry?" Mikasa asked meekly, trying her best to hide her face behind the maroon scarf wrapped around her neck.

"No, not angry, it's- It's not that, but..." Eren scratched his head furiously, unsure of what to say as he desperately tries to make sense of the little girl's strange actions. He always had trouble to think, let alone to utter even another single word when she starts to hide her face behind that scarf of hers. It could possibly be his one and only weakness...

"It's, uh... It's just- It's just kind of... weird, that's all."

"I'm sorry..." She whispered, unknowingly twiddling her fingers around.

"Did you want something, Mikasa? You know if there's anything wrong, then you can just say it to me. Don't... You don't have to stand somewhere and just stare at me in... Well, in that kind of way. "

She shook her head, her gaze still directed towards the wooden floorboards below. "No, nothing... There's nothing wrong..."

"Really? Then, uh... What's the matter? Why are you being, well... kind of odd today?"

"It's... It's nothing, It's really nothing..." Mikasa clasped her own hands together as she just lowered her own head, trying to somehow bury her own head within her scarf even more so than usual, not even making the slightest bit of sound as she does it.

And Eren just stood there helplessly at the edge of his bedroom doorway, forced to watch the ever confusing little girl standing in front of him with that depressed look in her eyes as his nerve-wrecked mind was still desperately struggling to make sense of this recently random situation.

...

Calling it an awkward silence between the two children would in fact, be an immense understatement...

...

"Eren... Am I bothering you?" Mikasa suddenly exclaimed, piercing the unsettling silence between them as she slowly raised her head, the very first first time the two looked at each other in this rather disjointed conversation.

"No... You're not bothering me." He sighed, trying his best to not look directly at the young girl's eyes. But he kept failing, though...

"It's just... Sometimes, you would always keep staring at me and it's- It's very, uh... It's very-" Eren couldn't even finish his own sentence, his entire body was frozen senselessly to the bone as he bear witness to the sadden eyes of the little girl standing before him, her head was slowly drooping down like a depressed little animal. Eren just didn't know what else to do or what to say - his mind, as erratic and excited as it usually is, was now a complete and utter blank. A very rare moment, indeed...

The insides of his empty head continued to rattle around in its search for something - anything that he could possibly think off in order to find a way to make the girl smile again. He still didn't understand why is this even happening in the first place, but still... he just have to do it.

"Ah, I know!" Eren stifled a sudden remark, his turquoise eyes were brightly lit up, out of nowhere.

"...Huh?" Mikasa raised her head.

"I- I... I could just stare back at you, Mikasa! Then we'll be completely even! We can just be weird together!" He exclaimed confidently, without even pausing to think what he had just said.

"Uh... What?" Mikasa raised her eyebrows in complete confusion and amazement, her pale cheeks were flushed with a faint crimson for some reason she didn't even want to admit.

"Prepare yourself, Mikasa!" Eren pounded on his chest, clearly determined. He has absolutely no idea why he was doing this or where this would eventually lead him, but he felt like he just had to do something, as strange and confusing as it really is.

"No, on second thought, please don't do it..." Mikasa just turned around all of a sudden and hurried herself away, desperate to cover and blend her crimson cheeks amongst the maroon redness of her scarf.

"Wait, Mikasa! Wait!" Eren, not sure what the heck is he actually doing as always, simply followed her out in the corridor.

"Nope, nope, goodbye." She kept shambling away, trying to brush him off.

"What do you mean? You're the one who started all of this in the first place!" Eren begged and pleaded, demanding her to stop right this instant.

"Sorry but no..."

"Mikasa!" Eren gently grabbed onto her shoulders, immediately halting the shocked girl dead in her tracks.

"Look at me, Mikasa."

"...Huh?"

Mikasa was quiet, barely making any sounds whatsoever as she finally gave in to Eren's nonsensical pleas and slowly turned around to face the strangely excited young boy before her.

"Aha! Now then..." Eren suddenly pulled Mikasa closer and closer until she was naught but a few mere inches in front of him. Her face was still partially covered by the warmth of her scarf, but Eren didn't mind as her eyes - her usually empty eyes - were left completely exposed. Eren leaned in closer, edging his face ever so slightly in front of hers, more and more, slowly. As much as he tries to hold it back, the boy's nervous breath could almost brush gently against the pale and sensitive skin of her crimson cheeks, now in a darker and more prominent shade.

His eyes was concentrating - they were gazing directly into the eyes of the girl as he softly whispered with muffled determination, "Let me stare at you!"

Mikasa couldn't help but to just stand there helplessly still, the boy's eyes was the only thing she could see right now. Her shaking feet wanted to just walk away and leave the boy behind, running for the sweet merciful shelter back at her own room and into the shared comfort of her scarf and the blankets of her bed. But for some unexplained reason, she just can't move. Her eyes... Her glowing eyes were just too busy staring at the young boy for her to move even a single inch, let alone to think of anything else.

She really didn't know what was going on inside the boy's mind or what had inspired him to suddenly do such a thing, but she didn't pay any mind to it at all. Her heart was racing, as much as she tries to hide it, drumming along without any signs of even stopping. Mikasa's personal promise to herself for taking care of Eren wasn't exactly as grandiose or exciting as she had originally thought it would've been. But... This was good enough.

Hidden under the softness of her scarf and completely unbeknownst to Eren, she was smiling, ever so pleasantly...

Armin, on the other hand, whom was perfectly quiet and out of sight for the entire time, was taking a sneaky little peek from inside Eren's room, stealthily peering from around the corner as he watches his best friend and the mysterious little girl quietly staring at each other's eyes right smack dab in the middle of the corridor.

The secretive boy couldn't help himself but to smile ever so pleasantly as he shook his head, clearly amazed and admittedly, a bit baffled at the strange turn of events that had somehow transpired in the hallway.

_"But what can I do?"_ Armin thought to himself as he went back into the room, eager to enjoy another one of his favorite snacks and maybe, take another glimpse at the old pictures in his ancient tome.

_"What can I do?"_

After all, a staring contest between two children is perfectly normal, right?

...Right?

* * *

**Hi there!**

**Nothing much to say over here but I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to read the chapter. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. If all goes well and according to plan, there might still be a bunch of chapters left I want to write so we're not even halfway done yet! As always, all reviews and favorites are much appreciated. Do tell me if there's anything lacking whatsoever. Anyway, thanks again for reading.**

**Have a very good day!**

**-ParagonFlynn**


	5. A Hesitant Promise

**The Little Things**

* * *

**A Hesitant Promise**

* * *

"Okay, remember what I told you? Just hold still and try not to move so-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it! I get it! I'm ready so just do it already!"

The boy held a firm grip onto the table's corners and gritted his sharp teeth, preparing himself for all of the upcoming pain he will surely experienced. He's not very sure what to expect but one thing's for sure, it was all inevitable, no matter what he does.

"Ag-" He let out a meek sound but promptly swallowed it back into his throat before it was too late, not wanting to let it escape so easily.

"O-" His mouth felt sore as he tried his best to keep it inside him, but the boy knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up forever.

"Ow! Agh!" And in the end, his apparent bravado was, unfortunately for the young boy, very short-lived.

"Okay- ouch! Okay, slow it down a bit. That's- That's too much!" He screamed for sweet mercy somewhere between his occasional sounds of painful howls, repeatedly flinching his sore eyes as he does it.

"Ow! OW! I said- Ow! Mikasa, I sa- That's too much!"

Eren couldn't help himself but to let out another constant series of short pain-filled yelps, trying his best to hide his grimacing face from Mikasa as she wrapped the bandage tightly around Eren's bleeding forehead. The bandage was thoroughly clean and was even dosed with a bit of medicinal antibiotics from the house's medical supplies - the only problem at the current moment was that Mikasa was never really known for her ever so gentle and caring touch.

"OW! Hey, okay, that's a- That's a little bit- Okay, now that's too- ARGH!"

"Alright, I'm done." Mikasa said, completely indifferent to Eren's pain.

"Oh, finally! Thank God." He sighed, filled with pure relief as he gently caressed his numb head like a mother would with a child.

"Wow, I didn't realize you were such a crybaby." Mikasa playfully scoffed as she packed away the medical kit back into the dusty kitchen cupboards - if you could consider droning on a single short sentence with nary any trace of emotion as 'playful'.

"Hey, it's not very fair that you have these creepy hands made out of goddamn steel!" Eren angrily retorted, his cheeks were flushed with a light pink-ish crimson as he defiantly slammed his worn fists onto the table.

"What the hell is even wrong with your body in the first place, Mikasa? How did it get so damn strong all of a sudden? It's really freaking me out!"

"Oh, that?" Mikasa's eyes didn't even change, seemingly used to the boy's angry outbursts. "All you have to do is eat a healthy diet and-

"Yeah, you know what? Just forget about it..." Eren was quick to notice the sarcastic tone in her otherwise completely emotionless expressions.

"On second thought, I don't even want to hear it." The boy slightly shook his head before he declared his confident and cocky words, "I'll just have to keep working extra hard from now on and become stronger than you in my own way!"

"But... Why?" Mikasa asked, her empty tone was changed to a more serious one. "Why are you even doing all of this?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Eren replied, not realizing his clenched fists - their knuckles still fresh with the stains of blood from today's events.

"Do I just simply do nothing at all as they keep making fun of Armin? Make fun of us both?"

"And so... You just fight them all? Even if you make a complete fool of yourself in front of everyone?"

"Well, I really don't care what those people think. They're basically just a bunch of strangers to me." He said as he cocked a smug smile on his otherwise badly bruised face.

"And screw whatever Hannes thinks - that old drunk ain't going to live long anyways." He chuckles at his would-be joke, although the girl didn't seem none too pleased by it.

"But, in all seriousness..." Eren continued, his cheeky smile disappeared as quick as it had came.

"If I don't keep on fighting, how else am I going to join the Survey Corps? I have to be even stronger than I am right now or I won't be able to make it! Those soldier guys don't just accept any two-bit weakling, you know!" Eren exclaimed with such determination as he carefully stroke his blacked-out eye, hoping that it could somehow dull the pain just a little bit.

"And then... What will you do when you're a part of the Survey Corps?"

The boy raised his eyebrows, noticing the sudden array of questions from the girl. "Is this going to be another one of your confusing self-reflecting ques-"

"I said..." Her voice still sounded the same but, the boy could almost sense her sheer annoyance. "What will you do next?"

"I... Well..." The boy didn't answer immediately - he slowly turned his solemn gaze away from the girl and towards the wooden floorboards under the dining table.

"Well, I'm going to try my best and get even more stronger than I've ever been before. Then, I'm going to try my best and slaughter every single one of the Titan bastards outside the Walls and liberate all of Humanity from the fear of the Titans. When all is finally done and finished, I want to travel with Armin, following our plans to explore the uncharted horizon and discovering new exotic locations."

"Wow, it seems like you have everything figured out already." The girl sounded disappointed and even a little bit displeased.

"Of course I do - I'm not playing around over here, Mikasa. I got to have a grand master plan prepared for these kinds of things, you know." He grinned, his white sharp teeth was a sharp contrast to his blackened eye and bruised face.

"But, then again..." Mikasa quickly added, her character was more relaxed for some reason as she moved closer to the boy and sat on a wooden chair directly opposite of the young boy.

"It all kind of sounds..."

"Hmm? Sounds like what?" Eren glanced at the girl in front of him as he suddenly let out a bored and tired yawn.

"Tremendously childish." The corners of her mouth was raised ever so slightly as she smiled.

"Hey, come on. Don't judge me like that. You don't see me making fun of your life goals." The boy snapped back, his eyes seemed disinterested, if you could somehow look past the bruises.

"My life goals?" Mikasa repeated the words out loud, seemingly uncertain with the words or the concept.

"Yeah, what's the point in living anymore if you're not going to do anything with it? That's why everyone needs a goal, everyone needs a dream..."

"My life goals..." She tried to hide her face under the maroon scarf wrapped around her neck as she gazed at the bruised and bloodied boy sitting right in front of her - and smiled even more. "I'm fine... I'm fine right now."

"Sure, whatever suits you, I guess..." The boy leaned back against the wooden chair and stretched his arms wide open out onto the air, enjoying the strangely satisfying feeling of his stiff muscles loosening up and fixing themselves.

As soon as the boy had finished, he glanced back at the quiet girl in front of him, fulfilling the role of her title. And somehow out of nowhere, there was a sudden and very awkward silence between the two children.

Neither knows what else to say to each other as they sat perfectly still at the dining table, the tiny streams of the evening Sun piercing through the windows was the only thing to keep them company in the otherwise dimly lit kitchen. The only sounds to be heard was the occasional creaking from the ancient floorboards and the distant shouting from the nearby markets outside, signifying their final opening hours.

But besides that, the two children were very much alone in a big empty house...

"Hey, Mikasa." Eren speaks up, wanting to break the silence within the house. A glimmer of genuine seriousness could be seen inside his turquoise eyes as he turned to look directly at the young girl before him - only to see she was already staring at the boy for quite some time now.

"...Mikasa?"

"Huh?!" The girl suddenly blurted out, her eyes was widened with shock as she seemingly broke free from her own 'trance'. She even stumbled around like a complete fool and almost fell from her own chair, for some strange inexplicable reason.

"Okay... What's the matter with you?" Eren was of course, perplexed at the girl. "Why are you so nervous, all of a sudden?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Mikasa repeatedly exclaimed in such a flushed and worried tone as she quickly tries to regain her quiet composition. A faint crimson was written all over her pale cheeks as she wore a very nervous smile as a makeshift mask. "I'm fine, seriously! I'm fine!"

"Well, you should be. I'm the one who got beat up today, remember?" Eren was still a bit confused with the girl's often erratic behaviours, but he learned to just shrug it off nowadays, sometimes with just a joke or two.

"But, anyway..." The cold and serious look came back into the boy's eyes as he made a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry, Mikasa, I really am. But..." The boy was slow with his words, as if he's trying to figure out the right ones to actually say.

"Yes, what is it?" Her smile was gone too, sensing the light-hearted atmosphere from before, was suddenly drained away by the boy in a near instant.

"You know I can't stop now." Eren said.

"I won't let anything stop me - not even you."

"Wha- ...What?" She was taken aback by the boy's words.

"Come on, Mikasa. I'm not that stupid. I know what you've been trying to do... With all of these annoying questions and all the stuff you try to do to prevent me from getting closer with the Survey Corps." Eren said with a slight smile, as if he was trying to play it off like it was all nothing.

"..." Mikasa kept quiet.

"I'm just going to tell you right now that I won't change my mind, no matter what you do."

"But... But I-" She tried to stifle some words in her own defense but, Eren was quick to interrupt her.

"You can't stop me. You need to understand that I have to do this. I need to..."

"Eren..." She could only say his name, her eyes were worried, deathly so.

"Look... Just promise me that you won't tell my Mom or my Dad about any of this Survey Corps. stuff. I just need more time to get these things done first, I just need to achieve something first before I can tell them myself. Maybe when I'm older, maybe when I'm stronger... But, for now, they don't need to know."

"But, Eren... You know they won't-" She tried to warn him, how she desperately wanted him to stop.

"JUST promise me, please!" Eren shouted, the house echoes with his determined but desperate voice.

"Come on, Mikasa, please." The boy's piercing green eyes just stared deep into the girl's. "Just do it for me, at least..."

"I'm begging you over here..."

The girl kept quiet, she didn't know what to say to him or what to do next. But one thing's for sure, Mikasa knew the boy's entire future and maybe even his entire fate is at her mercy, but will it be the right thing to do? To strip of someone their entire goals in life, their dream in this world, one of the very reasons for them to try and continue on living in this cruel world?

Is it right to kill someone when they're alive? Even for their own safety? And maybe... for your own sanity?

"Fine." Mikasa could feel the pain inside her as she mutter the very words. "I promise not to tell them, for now..."

"Thanks, Mikasa, for whatever it's worth." Eren smiled, a smile of relief and gratitude.

"Hmph..." Mikasa didn't say anything back though, she could feel her heart twisted with worry as she firmly held onto the table's corners.

"Uh... Speaking of which, where is Mom, by the way?" Eren suddenly exclaimed, trying to change the subject as soon as possible.

"Well..." The girl simply follows his lead and looked outside the kitchen windows, seeing the orange glow of the evening sun peering through the thick glass.

"Looking at the time, I'm sure she'll be back from the markets any moment now."

"Then, it won't be long now, I guess..." Eren said, stifling a sarcastic tone.

"Have fun explaining this to your Mother. I'm sure she'll be more than happy enough to find out what happened..." She buried her head within the scarf as she dryly chastised the young boy.

"Yeah, well... Can't say I'm really looking forward to dinner, I can tell you that much."

"Hmph..."

* * *

**Thank you all for reading the chapter. I sincerely hope you have enjoyed it. As always, any reviews and opinions are greatly appreciated. I would love it if you were to tell me your honest opinion on the story so far. You never know how much it would really help me out.**

** Thanks again for reading and have a very great day.**

**-ParagonFlynn**


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